Religion in Paris
by Gothic Dancer
Summary: Last story in the "Religion and Music" trilogy. Hidan hasn't seen Tayuya in two years, but when Orochimaru gives him a chance to see his daughter in Paris, Hidan can't refuse. HidanxTayuya Bonus chapter added!
1. When I Left Japan

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Author's Note: When I first began writing _Religion and Music_, I didn't think I'd ever get around to going any further with the story than those original twelve chapters. I had fun writing _When the Music Disappeared_ though, so I thought I'd finish this whole thing with another short story (a two-shot) to ease some curiosity AND to have a happier ending. As usual, the story is from Hidan's point of view, and the rating and warnings remain the same as ever.

Title: Religion in Paris

Chapter 1: When I Left Japan

By: Gothic Dancer

"What was that, Sound-san? I'm not sure if I heard you correctly."

"Tayuya wants to see you! She has two weeks off starting in two days, and she really wants to see you. You're not going to school right now, so I thought I'd let you know I booked you for tomorrow's flight to Paris!"

...WHAT THE HELL?!

In a good way, of course.

Regardless of my reaction and how anyone took it, that was the conversation I had had with Orochimaru one night. He had called me around eight to tell me that Tayuya was free for an entire two weeks in Paris. And not only that, but SHE WANTED TO SEE ME. When I got the news, I was sure that I was hearing things. Yeah, that was it. I must have gotten some blood in my ears during a ritual earlier that day. Yup, that had to have been it.

But everything in Orochimaru's voice told me that I wasn't dreaming and that my ears were totally clean. I was going to Paris! TO FUCKING PARIS!!

Obviously, I immediately ran around my room in a panic, packing all my crap, or at least the stuff that would fit in my baggage. I called the rest of my friends who were nearby and told them the news. Kakuzu, Deidara, Sasori, Pein, and Konan agreed to take me to Narita Airport in Tokyo first thing in the morning, and since Pein had recently bought a car, I was glad I wouldn't have to pay for the train or a taxi. They're damn expensive in Japan.

That morning, I woke up early, ridiculously early, even before my friends had said they would come to get me. I showered and dressed as usual but didn't bring my bag with me when I walked out the door. I had somewhere to go first.

I hopped on my motorcycle and sighed at the empty second seat. Quickly, I sped down the street and made my way to the cemetery. Once I was there, I parked the bike and set it outside the gate. I slowly walked up the grassy hill, bathing in the early summer morning light, and stopped in front of a grave.

"Good morning, Kimimaro," I began, smiling. "I know I'm here really early, and I'm sorry if I woke you up, but I just want to let you know that I'm going on a trip today." I almost laughed. "I'm going to see your sister in Paris! Tayuya has two weeks off and wants to see me! Your father told me about it last night, and he suddenly booked me on a flight for Paris this morning! Weird, huh?" I paused and sighed. "I'll be gone for those two weeks, but I'll be back soon. I'm sorry I don't have any flowers for you this morning, because the flower shop isn't open yet, but I told some of my friends to come see you. I'm sure your brothers and your dad will stop by, too." I smirked and turned, walking away from the grave. "Later, man," I called out as I walked down the hill. "I'll see you in two weeks. Take care of yourself."

My friends came to get me around seven that morning, and we all split fast-food breakfasts on the way to Tokyo, which was about half an hour away. Once we were there, we headed to the airport, stopping at a convenience store to get some more caffeine into our systems.

The airport was fucking busy as hell. I had only been to a small one before, so I was a bit shocked at the massive crowds of people running in all different directions. Pein had to smack me over the head to snap me out of my trance. "You need to go check in," he told me. "Once you do that, the person behind the counter will take your bags, and you can go through security."

"We're going to get some food at the vending machines down that hallway," Sasori suddenly announced, pointing in that direction. "Me and Deidara. We're both hungry again."

I ignored them and walked to the counter. The woman there took my boarding pass, scanned it, took my bags, weighed them, and gave me my ticket. I glanced at it quickly before she asked for the next person. I was supposed to go to the first terminal and leave from Gate 3. I snorted and remembered my Akatsuki days. "Three" had been my codeword.

Before I go any further, I'll tell you what's been up with everyone. It's been almost a year and a half now since Tayuya left, so we're almost out of college. Pein and Konan are engaged, and I think they're planning a winter wedding. Kakuzu has made a shitload of money working his jobs and taking internships. Itachi is in college a year behind the rest of us since he had taken off for his blindness, and Sasuke is in the middle of his second year. Zetsu's mental health has improved significantly, but he still sees his doctors regularly. It was a shame because he's actually healthy enough to go out, so he could have come to the airport with us if he wanted to, but he had a few appointments today. Kisame is going to go to graduate school once he's done in Okinawa. Last summer, he studied abroad in Australia to study the coral reefs. He brought back some pictures he had taken from that trip, and, let me tell you, coral reefs are fucking amazing. No one, unfortunately, has heard from Tobi. We all assume that he's still in America, studying politics, but no one can be sure. Hell, for all we know, he could be RULING the fucking country by now! Jashin, I hope not. America has enough problems as it is. Anyway, the art brothers are still living together and attending art school together. They seem happy.

"Ready to go, Hidan?" Kakuzu asked me as soon as I met with the group.

I nodded. "I'm just going to use the bathroom. Too much coffee this morning."

Konan giggled. I rolled my eyes. Even if we were on okay terms, the bitch still bugged the living hell out of me. I shook my head and walked towards the men's room. And when I opened the door, I had a trip down Memory Lane.

"Oh, Danna...Sasori no Danna...I...I...Hurry up..."

"Dei...Dei-chan, I...OH, MY GOD!! DEIDARA!!"

I blinked and groaned. It was high school all over again.

"You two really are trying to set a world fucking record!!" I shouted, slamming on the door. "For Jashin's sake, we're in a FUCKING PUBLIC AIRPORT, you sex-starved morons!! Save your sex scenes for your own damn bathroom!!"

Sasori glanced up at me and smirked. "But it's so much fun..." he panted, "...with the thrill that we might get caught." He paused. "Hey, by the way, Hidan, get us something from the Red Light District in Paris, okay? We could use some new toys."

I saw Deidara blush like an idiot, even underneath that pink, sweaty face of his.

I twitched. "I'll use the bathroom after I get through security."

I'm not going to go into detail about the rest of my happy airport adventures. The rest of the group could understand what I had seen when I came back to them with a disgusted face. Regardless, security went smoothly, and the plane ride was just as nice. Long as fucking hell, but comfortable nonetheless. I just wish this idiot who had been sitting in front of me didn't snore so damn loudly.

But when I finally got to the airport in Paris, I was in for a little bit of a shock. In retrospect, I probably should have seen this one coming.

"EVERYTHING IS IN JASHIN-DAMNED FRENCH!! FUCK!!"

Please, kill me now.

I had long forgotten my English from classes with Kakashi-sensei, too, so I couldn't even read the English translations of the French words. I was, for lack of a better term, kind of screwed.

"DOES ANYBODY HERE SPEAK ANY FUCKING JAPANESE?!"

"Stop screaming, dumbass. You're giving Japan a bad name."

I turned.

Holy shit.

My girl. Tayuya. My girlfriend was standing right there. The busy airport suddenly disappeared, and I could only stare at her. She hadn't changed much. She was still sort of short and skinny, and she had that same "I'm going to kill you" look on her face. Her hair was strawberry pink, and her eyes were chocolate brown. She was even more beautiful than I had remembered her.

"You going to say something, or are we going to have a French staring contest?" she hissed, smirking. I suddenly laughed and threw my arms around her, picking her up and swinging her around once. She laughed with me as I set her down, and we shared a long, juicy kiss. Jashin, it had been so damn long...

"Let's go get your bags," she whispered. She took my hand and led me down a flight of stairs to the baggage claim area. I quickly spotted my two bags, and we each took one. In order to avoid the crowds as much as possible, we quickly left the airport and hopped into the first taxi we saw. The man behind the wheel jabbered something in French, and Tayuya responded. The driver nodded and sped off into traffic.

I had just come off an international flight, and I was tired as hell, but I must have had a massive adrenaline rush, because Paris was unlike anything I had ever seen before. People sat in cafes sipping coffee, and vendors on the streets sold posters of famous French paintings and Parisian tourist spots. I recognized a few of them from Tayuya's postcards, but seeing them in real life was something else entirely. I spotted the Eiffel Tower, Notre Dame, Le Louvre, Le Musée d'Orsay, and a few other sights that made my jaw drop. It was fucking incredible, better than Kisame's photos of the coral reefs.

"You look like such a tourist," Tayuya snapped playfully, punching me in the arm. I smirked and turned back to her, sighing a bit.

"I can't help it," I replied. "I've never been outside Japan, so this is really weird for me. Paris is so different from Tokyo. It looks like something out of one of Iruka-sensei's stupid history textbooks."

Tayuya nodded. "It does, doesn't it? I think that was one reason why I came to study here." She was quiet for a moment. "I miss Japan a lot though. There are times when all I want is to come home and eat some sushi."

I laughed. "YOU want to come home sometimes?" I smiled softly. "I thought you never wanted to come home. I thought you hated your family."

Tayuya shrugged. "I don't know," she murmured. "Dad has been sending me care packages, and I've been writing letters to him. I guess I miss him a little. I mean, he always says that he misses me like hell. I wonder if that's just because he doesn't have his little girl around to cook and clean for him."

I knew the real Tayuya was hidden in there somewhere underneath all the sentimental feelings.

I shook my head. "I think he misses you for real." I paused. "I know that...Kimimaro misses you."

Tayuya looked up at me through her pink hair and smiled. "Yeah? When you get home, tell him I miss him a lot, too."

Suddenly, the car stopped, and the driver said something I couldn't understand. Tayuya nodded and handed him money, thanking him, I assume. We hopped out of the taxi and took my bags from the back trunk. When the cab drove off, we climbed up the stairs of the nearby building, which Tayuya explained was her apartment for the time she was in Paris. It was a damn nice one, too. It wasn't as ritzy as her house back in Japan, but it was something special. Of course, my apartment was pure shit, so I guess there was some fascination just at the mere size of it. Tayuya's room was much bigger than mine. Hell, it was bigger than some of the rooms at Konan's inn!

No sooner had we put my bags down, my cell phone rang. I picked it up. "Hello?"

"Get us some dildos from the Red Light District!" Sasori shouted. "And pick up a French maid costume for Deidara! I want to see his ass underneath all those frills!"

"HORNY FUCKER!!" I screamed, hanging up my cell and tossing it across the room.

Tayuya raised an eyebrow and shook her head. "That guy seriously needs Sexaholics Anonymous."

"No shit."

I threw myself on Tayuya's bed and breathed in her scent. Jashin, her pillows smelled good. "What time is it?" I muttered. "I'm fucking tired."

I heard Tayuya snort. "It's the middle of the afternoon," she told me. "You can't sleep yet. If you do, you'll never get use to the time change."

"Damn it," I snarled, looking up. When my eyes locked with Tayuya's, a smirk grew on my face. "I can think of something we can do until bedtime." I got up and walked towards my girl. She had an amused smile on her face as I pulled on her t-shirt.

"That's nice, Hidan," she began, "but I don't think two minutes will make much of a difference."

My faced flushed bright red. "BITCH!!" I shouted, grabbing her by the collar of her shirt. Tayuya just laughed and kissed me.

"I'm kidding," she sighed. "I have a better idea though. Let me show you Paris."

TO BE CONTINUED


	2. When I Experienced Paris

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Title: Religion in Paris

Chapter 2: When I Experienced Paris

By: Gothic Dancer

We hardly made it out of Tayuya's apartment before her cell phone rang. She cursed quietly and looked at the Caller ID. Her face twisted in disgust. "It's Dad," she spat, her voice dripping with poison. "What the hell could HE possibly want?"

"Answer it," I insisted. Tayuya shot me a confused look. I sighed. "Just see what he wants. If he starts to annoy you, hang up. Seriously. Just answer it. I'll wait." I sat back down on her bed to prove I wasn't kidding.

Tayuya rolled her eyes. "Fine," she hissed, opening up her phone. She walked into the bathroom and shut the door, but I could still hear everything she was saying. "Hello? Dad? Hi, what is it? Hidan and I...Yes, Hidan is here. He made it to Paris in one piece, don't worry...What? Oh yeah, the flight took a hell of a lot out of him. He's jet lagged like there's no tomorrow."

I shook my head. I so was not. I was just tired, damn it.

"He and I are going to go out and tour the streets a little and then go to dinner," I heard my girlfriend continue. "I'm just going to take him to this cafe I know, nothing special." She paused for a minute, and I heard her gasp quietly. "Oh...it was? That last care package you mean? I thought you had sent it! No...? It was...from my brothers?"

My head whipped towards the bathroom door. What...?

"Uh, yeah, it was really nice," Tayuya went on. "I needed some clothes and Japanese snacks, so it was cool, Um...yeah, I'll thank them next time I get the chance. Um...sure." She paused again. "Dad...? I...um...what I mean to say is...erm...I...I miss you. It's, uh, been two years since I last saw you, and I...I guess I miss you a little. I know, I know, I'll be home in another two years, but..."

So Tayuya hadn't been lying about missing her family. Damn. I sat back against the bed's pillows and stared at the ceiling. I supposed that even psycho chicks like Tayuya still had a soft side to them. The more I thought about it though, the more I realized that Tayuya had missed out on a major part of childhood, losing her mother and being bullied by those five asshole brothers of hers. Kimimaro had probably been the only form of a tolerable childhood she had had.

"Yes, Dad," Tayuya finished. "I promise I'll send you another postcard soon. Yeah, I'll take some photos. Okay." Another pause. "I...I miss you, Dad...and I love you."

I didn't bother listening to the rest of the conversation. I had heard too much already as it was.

When she finally emerged from the bathroom, Tayuya's eyes looked a bit red. I pretended not to notice, and we left her apartment. We walked the nearby streets of Paris, not really looking at anything in particular. There were no major tourist sights around the area, so the focus of our attention was the average, daily lives of French people. I liked it. It was nice to see such a common form of living. When people think of Paris, they think of the fancy, luxurious life, while, in reality, French people are no different from any other people. They just smoke a lot. It was like being surrounded by multiple Asuma-senseis. Crap.

When Tayuya and I made it to the cafe, that didn't change much. It's still legal for people to smoke in restaurants in France, so my eyes were watering the whole damn time. I think Tayuya was amused, because she had this bitchy little smirk on her face while we ate. Either it was the smoke in my face, or I had been eating something that normally should not be eaten. Obviously, Tayuya had done all the talking when we ordered our meals, so, for all I know, she could have ordered me a fried cow's brain or something.

Not like it would have mattered. My meal, whatever it was, tasted fucking awesome. And that was when I realized that if you're in a foreign country and you eat something that tastes damn amazing, DO NOT ask what's in it.

The rest of the week played out similarly. Because I had two whole weeks in Paris, Tayuya insisted on showing me only one attraction a day so I could fully experience it...or some shit like that. I was still tired as hell, even by the end of the week, but I had seen so many fucking awesome things.

The first stop was the Eiffel Tower, appropriately enough. "It's the most popular tourist spot in France," Tayuya explained as we bought our tickets. "It's so damn famous even though it's far from the oldest attraction. I don't know why people go so crazy over it." She looked up at me and handed me a ticket. "We're not going to the top; it's a crappy waste of time. I'm just taking you up to the first level so you can do the tourist thing. Then I'll show you how a local see this hunk of metal."

We waited in line for almost an hour before boarding the elevator and going up to the first level. Sure, the view was nice and everything, but there was nothing particularly special about it. The tower was mostly a tourist trap, since there was a gift shop no matter where you looked. "We waited on that fucking line for a fucking hour for THIS?!" I hissed at my girl.

Tayuya nodded. "It's amazing what stupid tourists will fork over their money for." She sighed. "Now that you've seen just how dim-witted tourists are, let's go get lunch somewhere. Then I'll show you how the Eiffel Tower was REALLY meant to be seen."

It took us an additional hour just to get down from the tower. Big fucking waste of time.

After eating, Tayuya told me that we had to wait until nightfall in order to truly experience the Eiffel Tower, so we did some shopping. The exchange rate was bad though, like...Kakuzu would have had multiple heart attacks if he had seen the rate and then how damn expensive everything is in France. It's like, "Damn, a thousand yen for a bar of chocolate." (For all you people who don't know a damn thing about currency, that means I would have to pay a little bit less than ten dollars for that chocolate, which was something I was NOT about to do.) I could see why Tayuya depended so much on those care packages from her family.

However, once night finally did fall, Tayuya brought me to a deck where she said one could get a great view of the tower. We waited for a little while until the tourist trap suddenly lit up with bright lights flashing as far as the eye can see. I stared at it. That crappy hunk of metal could be transformed into...THIS?! My head snapped to Tayuya. She was grinning smugly, and her cheek rested against my arm. "I told you, stupid," she laughed.

The next few days fanned out the same way. Tayuya took me to one place every day. We would always do the tourist thing first and then do the local thing. Some of the stuff was just plain weird, and some of it was fascinating.

On the day we went to the Rodin Museum (Rodin was a famous French sculptor during the late 19th and early 20th centuries.), I ran into my love of the art world. First, I noticed "The Thinker" from one of Tayuya's postcards. That was pretty cool, but my favorite piece of art ever was the one next to it. It was called "The Gates of Hell."

When I first saw it, I just stared at it, taking it all in. It wasn't required reading in high school, but I had read Dante's "Inferno" (only the first part of "The Divine Comedy," the full story) in my free time during my first year at Shinobi High. The main character went on a trip through the different levels of Hell, that being the only way he could ever reach Paradise. The story drew me in like some sort of vortex, and I couldn't stop reading until the main character had finally crossed Satan's path. Of course, at the same time, I was constantly shouting, "WHERE THE FUCK IS JASHIN-SAMA?!"

But here before me was "The Gates of Hell," a piece inspired by Dante's "Inferno." My mouth must have been open while I gazed upon it though, because, out of nowhere, Tayuya informed me, "You're drooling, idiot."

And with that, I snapped back to reality. I looked at my girlfriend and pointed to the art piece. "Could we go to a gift shop or something?" I asked. "I want to get, like, I don't know, a poster or something of this...or whatever else." I looked back at the sculpture, my eyes wide.

Tayuya smirked. "I had a feeling you'd like it," she sighed contently. "Alright, just for you, we'll go be stupid tourists. Come on." She took my hand and led me to a nearby shop. Luckily, there was a poster available for only a few euros, and I could even afford a paperweight. It wasn't like I needed the thing, but, hell, it was my new favorite work of art.

My fascination with art wouldn't last so long though. The next day, Tayuya brought me to Le Lourve, another famous museum in Paris...and a damn big one at that. It was free to get in with my passport, but even that wasn't enough of a fair trade for what I would see.

"So that's it?"

"Yup, that's it."

"And all those Japanese tourists are going crazy over it?"

"Yeah. Makes you want to say you're Chinese or Korean, huh?"

I twitched. The "Mona Lisa" was before us, and the Japanese tourists were fucking insane over it, taking hundreds of pictures and practically worshipping the thing. It was...almost disgusting. I'm sure Sasori would have liked it, but to me, it was just...a painting. Sure, it was super famous and all, but...it was just a painting.

"I thought it would be bigger," I finally admitted.

Tayuya nodded. "That's what everyone says. Let's get the fuck out of here and see some real art."

The rest of the museum was pretty cool. I was able to recognize a few works from the photos and postcards Tayuya had sent me over the years, same as in the Rodin Museum. But even after five hours of walking through the place, there was still so much to see! I cursed quietly when Tayuya told me there was a whole other level we still hadn't seen yet.

She looked up at me, holding onto the museum map. "Are you tired?" she asked, her voice actually kind of caring. I nodded and she smiled. "Then we can save everything else for another time," she agreed, closing the map and stuffing it into her pocket. "I'll take you to eat now."

The other places we went during that week were okay. Le Centre Pompidou, a museum full of modern art, was more interesting from the outside rather than the inside. The outside was covered with transparent tubes and different color wires hanging all over the place, and visitors could walk inside the tubes. But when we were finally inside the museum, we were confused. We stopped in front of several paintings and tried looking at them from different angles but still got nothing. Deidara would have blown the place up.

Le Musée d'Orsay was the general sculpture museum. While there were a few paintings, the sculptures and other 3D pieces of art were the focus. It was okay, I guess.

It was on Sunday though when I was in for a shock, a shock that I'll probably never forget.

Tayuya and I were sitting in a cafe next to a park. It was an indoor one (Most French cafes have both indoor and outdoor settings.), so we couldn't see who was passing by on the streets beyond the frosted glass windows. To make my sight worse, I was sitting with my back against the door, and Tayuya was facing it.

We had just ordered coffee when the front door opened. Tayuya had been telling me about the next few places we were going to visit when she looked up and smiled. "Hey!" she cried, waving. But something was strange. She had spoken in...Japanese. "Over here! Yugito! Come over here!"

I froze. Yugito? As in...the "Two-Tailed Cat?" The vengeance bringer of Lightning Private Academy? No way. It was a coincidence. "Yugito" was a common name, right?

But when the person came to the table, I realized that Yugito Nii, the suspected "Two-Tails" of the Jinchuuriki gang that I had let get away, was standing at the table. I looked up at her, and when our gazes met, I thought the world would end.

Yugito didn't look much different from how she did during her high school days. She still had her long, blonde hair tied back into a long ponytail, and the shade of lipstick painting her lips was the exact same shade of purple she had worn on the night of our chase. Her face was pale and innocent-looking, and her black eyes had a glimmer of fear in them.

"Yugito, this is my boyfriend Hidan," Tayuya explained, pointing to me. "He's the one I've been telling you about. Hidan, this is Yugito. She's your age. We met when I first came to Paris two years ago. She's studying here, too, and we take the same metro line to get to school." She smiled but the expression faded quickly when she noticed we weren't listening. "Um, Hidan?" she asked me, poking my arm. "Do you two know each other?"

I looked at my girlfriend and nodded. "Tayuya?"

"Yeah?"

"Could you...excuse me for a minute? I want to talk to Yugito alone."

I could tell that Tayuya had a long string of curses and accusations on the tip of her tongue, but she held them in at the last moment and nodded, gesturing for us to step outside. "If you're not back in five minutes," she hissed, "I get your coffee."

I didn't say anything. Instead, I just rose from my seat, took Yugito's arm, and practically dragged her outside. Once we were out of the cafe, I blurted out the only thing on my mind. "What the fuck are you DOING here?!" I shouted, panicked. "I thought you were going to study to be a vet in Japan!"

Yugito bit her lip and shook her head. "No!" she nearly sobbed. "I decided to come to Paris! I mean, I found an excellent school here, and my parents said I could study abroad if I wanted to. I never thought something like this would happen!" She practically convulsed. "So Tayuya's boyfriend was you...this whole time." She looked up at me, scared. "You're not going to hurt me, are you?"

I blinked and my angry expression faded. My hands shook and sweat, and I was sure my hair was falling out of place. "Um, no," I finally murmured. "I didn't hurt you the first time; I'm not going to do it now."

Yugito noticeably relaxed and smiled. "Thank you," she breathed. "Really though, I had no idea it was you. To think you'd be Hidan! I would have never guessed!" She paused. "You know, Tayuya's lucky to have you."

My eyes shot open. "Why would you say that?"

"She needs a man who's not an asshole."

Yugito grinned one last time and left without another word. I just stared at her back for a while. I didn't get it. Were we on okay terms? Were we friends? Did we even care anymore? In general though, I didn't get girls. They were weird. Konan was a bitch I couldn't deal with, Tayuya was a bitch I loved, and Yugito was just plain strange. It was then that I realized that my life had way too many men in it for a straight man.

Of course, when I came back into the cafe, the coffee had come to the table, and Tayuya had her "I'm going to kill you" look on her bitter face. "What the fuck was that about?" she snapped.

I shook my head. "Bitch, don't get the wrong idea," I snarled, taking a long gulp of coffee. "That was Yugito Nii, one of the people Akatsuki targeted back in high school."

Tayuya's face suddenly dropped, and she lost her disgusted expression. "Then," she began, "isn't she supposed to be dead?" Her voice was shaky.

I sighed. "I let her go," I whispered. "Kakuzu and I were supposed to, you know, 'get her' one night, but I couldn't bring myself to do it. Kakuzu had already beaten her up pretty badly, so I had a moment and let her live. She escaped with a few injuries." I was quiet for a long moment. "Because of my actions, word got out to Pein that I had chosen you over the gang, and even though I told him I'd stick with the gang, he came after you anyway." I shrugged. "So the reason you were attacked that night was because of me. Hell, everything that's happened to you is because of me."

"But Yugito is also alive because of you," Tayuya added, her expression unreadable. She suddenly leaned in and kissed me, putting all her love into it. When she broke away, she said, "You're a good man, Hidan. If giving up our relationship would save someone, I probably would have done the same thing."

I scratched my head. "Even after what I did to you?"

"I probably would have done so BECAUSE I met you," she confessed. "You, um, showed me that there's more than hate in this world. There's...a lot of love, too."

We were quiet for a long time, just staring at each other. Jashin, had Tayuya really just said that? And the irony! Oh, the irony! I was one who had done nothing but hate before I met her! If anything, she had shown ME that there was love in the world!

After the silence, Tayuya's face suddenly twisted. "That was really cheesy," she realized. "Fuck that. Drink your coffee."

Oh yeah, there was the real Tayuya.

The second week of our time together wasn't much different than our first week. For one very good reason though, I couldn't wait for the week to end. Tayuya and I were going to visit Napoleon's Tomb, L'Arc de Triomphe, and a few other places during the week, and they all sounded interesting. But what I was looking forward to was the grand finale. We were visiting Notre Dame on Saturday, the last day Tayuya and I could spend together before I had to go back to Japan.

For such reasons, the week passed slowly, but when Saturday finally came, I was so damn excited. It's not like I was some kid in a candy shop or anything, but the anticipation of seeing the real thing from the Disney movie was something I couldn't get out of my system. Okay, for that reason, I sound like a kid, I know, but, hey _The Hunchback of Notre Dame_ was one of the only Disney films to revolve around religion and pass with a G rating! There were even some curse words in there! Disney subtext at its best.

We didn't leave for the cathedral right away though, and I was damn near confused as hell. Throughout the two weeks, Tayuya had forced me to wake up early so we could enjoy a French breakfast together and go see the hotspots of the city before the crowds of tourists came. But on Saturday, we both slept in, and when I panicked, Tayuya just shrugged and asked me if I wanted sex (Looking back, I realize how totally random that was, but, hey, I wasn't going to say no to an offer like that.).

In fact, Tayuya and I barely left the apartment until the late afternoon. Once the sun was low in the sky though, Tayuya suddenly appeared before me and said, "Put on your jacket. We're going."

I didn't need to be told twice. I threw my leather jacket on and rushed out the door with my girlfriend, who was damn near running towards the cathedral. Running, it took about ten minutes, and when we finally arrived, Tayuya stopped me. "You have to step here," she told me, pointing to a circle on the ground. "It's a tradition for people who visit Paris. If you step on it once, it guarantees your return to Paris. When you step on it during your second trip, it guarantees you'll find your true love. Any times after that, a wish of your will be granted." She smiled softly. "Step on it."

I did as told, and Tayuya's smile grew. "Good," she murmured. "Now I know you'll visit me again." With that, she pulled on my arm and led me to the front of the cathedral. I stared up at the building. Jashin, it was beautiful. So much detail and so many carvings all over the place. I could barely hold my awe in.

"It's beautiful," I murmured.

Tayuya nodded. "Come on," she insisted. "I'll take you inside." She looked around quickly, and while there were some people standing around, we made our way inside, even though it was after tourist hours. I bit my lip. What was she planning on doing?

A man looked towards us, and his face brightened. "Tayuya!" he whispered in a French accent. He said something else I couldn't understand, and Tayuya responded excitedly. She tugged on my arm and led me towards a corner, where I could see some stairs. Without knowing what going on, I felt myself being pulled up. I soon realized that we were climbing the stairs, and my feet quickly got the idea.

The stairs seemed to go on forever until I could see a light. "Come on! Hurry!" Tayuya gasped, reaching the top. I followed behind and looked out at where we were: the top of the cathedral.

"What the hell was that all about?" I asked, confused.

"I have connections with the people all over this city. Look!" Tayuya pointed towards the horizon, and I saw what she was so excited about. We had front row seats to the most amazing sunset ever.

I stared at the pinks, reds, oranges, and yellows in the sky and watched as the blazing sun sank behind the black buildings in the distance. It was unlike anything I had ever seen before. "This must be what Esmeralda saw," I whispered.

Tayuya looked up at me. "Hmm?"

I shook my head, embarrassed. "Um, you know how _101 Dalmatians_ is your favorite Disney movie? Well, _The Hunchback of Notre Dame_ is mine. I was so excited about seeing Notre Dame, and this is just...fucking amazing." I grinned happily.

Tayuya leaned against my shoulder. "You should have told me," she sighed. "I would have gotten the movie for you. Oh well. There's always Christmas."

I nodded. "Yeah, I guess so. That's still a few months away though. It's still just the end of summer."

We didn't say anything else until the guard from earlier came to the roof to tell us we couldn't have anymore time in the cathedral. Tayuya did all the speaking for me, and we quickly made our way down the stairs, back outside.

The next day was a sad one. I packed all my things together and closed my suitcases (No, I did not buy a French maid uniform for Deidara and Sasori.). Tayuya and I ate breakfast in silence, and we grabbed a taxi to the airport. We still didn't say anything.

I would miss her like fucking hell all over again. Her strawberry pink hair and chocolate brown eyes, her soft skin and skinny arms, her tiny body and lack of boobs, her curses, her kisses, all of it. I already missed everything about her, and we were still standing face-to-face in the airport lobby.

"My dad will pick you up at Narita," Tayuya finally whispered, her voice sad. "Just look for him when you land in Japan.

I nodded. "I will. Thank you." And then, without thinking, I picked my girlfriend up in my arms and kissed her. We stood there like that for the longest time, not caring about the rest of the world. All that mattered was Tayuya. That was all that ever mattered to me. I didn't need anything else as long as she was there.

Suddenly, Tayuya broke away and turned, running through the crowds. I frowned but refused to let tears fall. I had lived for such a long time without Tayuya, so why was I suddenly getting so emotional? It didn't make sense.

"Dad!" I heard Tayuya shout. I looked ahead and saw she was on her cell phone. Tears were streaming down her cheeks, and her eyes were red and puffy. "Daddy!" she sobbed. "Yes, Hidan is going through security now. It's just..." She cried for a few seconds before begging, "Daddy, can I come home for Christmas this year...PLEASE?!"

I looked away with a smile on my face.

After another ridiculously long flight, I finally landed in Tokyo, managing to get a few hours of sleep on the plane. I was still tired as hell when I got off, but I was okay. Orochimaru was there, beckoning me to come towards him. I greeted the man politely, and we went down to the baggage claim area to get my things.

A few minutes later, we were in the pale man's car, driving back to my apartment. We were quiet for a long time, but there was something I just needed to ask him.

"Sound-san?" I began. "Could I ask you a question?"

"Save it," Orochimaru replied, his eyes still focused on the road ahead. "I already know what you're going to ask. Let me just tell you three things. First of all, my daughter is one hell of a bitch, but I'm sure you already know that. Second, she comes with a no return policy. If you want her, you take ALL of her. And third, the budget for the dress 200,000 yen. That's still a lot of money though, so it better be a good one."

I was dumbstruck. "WHAT THE HELL?!" I shouted. "WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT?!"

Orochimaru rolled his eyes. "Don't play stupid," he remarked, stopping at a red light. "I know what you REALLY wanted to ask." He finally looked towards me and smirked. "I'd prefer it if you wait until Tayuya is out of college and you have a steady job, if you don't mind. So tell me, is this going to be a Jashinist wedding?"

I shrugged cautiously. "I...I don't know," I admitted. "I just...I just want to..."

Orochimaru nodded. "I get it," he replied, pushing on the gas when the light turned green. "You can do whatever you want. Just remember the three things I told you. And other thing: I want grandkids."

I blushed like an idiot but didn't say anything.

And now, I can see Tayuya.

Jashin, she looks good in white.

THE END

Author's Note: THANK YOU FOR READING THIS FAR!! I LOVE YOU ALL!! I wish I could glomp all of you right now, but this is the Internet, so that's slightly impossible. XD I just wanted to mention a few things. First of all, the places I mentioned in Paris are real, and I've been to all of them, so the details are accurate. I chose Paris because I know it so well. I've been there a few times, and it's one of my favorite cities in the world, along with New York City and Tokyo. I incorporated some of my experiences in Paris into this chapter as well. The whole "mystery food" Hidan ate at the restaurant was based off something that happened to me (I had veal for dinner one time in Paris, and it was stuffed with something I didn't know. For all I know, it could have been the animal's brain mashed up, but I didn't care, because it tasted AMAZING.). _The Hunchback of Notre Dame_ is also one of my favorite Disney movies, so I thought it was appropriate to bring it up, even though it's been part of Hidan's character since Religion and Music. This trilogy has been amazingly fun to write, and I love every single review, comment, and favorite I've received on each story. Being a girl who doesn't like to use curse words, the stories were tough for me to write at times, because I was desperate to make the characters sound as in-character as possible while showing their development as time passed, especially in Hidan and Tayuya. Like I said at the end of Religion and Music, this is my favorite "Naruto" crack couple of all-time, and I hope I made it seem somewhat canon to you. XD In the meantime, I wish all of you peace, love, anime, fanfiction, religion, and music.

-Gothic Dancer


	3. Bonus Story: Music Returning Home

Author's Note: To all my loyal readers and fans: Welcome back! XD Yes, yes, originally, the _Religion and Music_ trilogy was supposed to end with the last chapter of _Religion in Paris_, but I got this wicked idea for a bonus story that I just HAD to write! Anybody else ever get those crazy urges? XD Anyway, I hope you enjoy it. The rating and warnings are the same as usual, but this time, the view comes from none other than...Tayuya! And, as usual, your thoughts and feedback are loved! (BTW, "imouto" means "little sister" in Japanese. "Nii-san" means "older brother.")

**Bonus Story: Music Returning Home (AKA: Side Story: Tayuya's Story)**

**By: Gothic Dancer**

"Miss?"

"Hmm?"

"Could you please bring your seat back and tray table to their upright and locked positions? We'll be landing in Tokyo momentarily."

"Oh...yeah, sure."

I did as the flight attendant instructed and braced myself for the plane's landing. It was so strange to me, as if I were waking up from a dream. The flight from Paris to Tokyo was so long in the beginning. The first four hours were pure hell, as I was so damn anxious to get off the stupid thing and just be in Japan already. I wanted some sort of instant transportation machine like in one of those bad American sci-fi films I like so much. I knew it was impossible, but I wanted to be in Japan that badly.

For the past week, I had been flying through my work at university in Paris. I handed assignments in to my professors days before their due dates, thoroughly confusing those poor teachers and setting myself up for some major gossip from my classmates. I stuck out enough as it was, being a Japanese girl in the middle of Paris, France, studying music and giving performances to the entire college population (Dad has connections with people all over the world, no shit.). The fact that I was working at the speed of light only made me stand out more.

One time, I actually collapsed in the middle of the metro station. I was lucky though, because Yugito was there to take care of me. She took me to the local hospital, where I slept for a few hours. Upon waking up, I realized that I hadn't been properly fueling myself. I had gotten almost no sleep for the past few days, and my body was running on nothing more than a morning croissant and several shots of espresso throughout the afternoons and nights. When Yugito asked me what the hell my problem was, I finally realized what I had hoped to do.

"I'm going home for Christmas break," I mumbled, sipping down a glass of water from the nurse. "I want this week to go by fast, so I guess I'm just trying to get it over with as soon as possible. Damn the fact the week takes so long to go by."

Yugito just shook her head. "You know, getting all your work done super early won't make the week pass any sooner." She paused for a moment and grinned. "I can see why you're acting this way though. Go have some nice, hot make-up sex with Hidan when you get back to Japan."

I shot my friend a dirty look. "Fuck you, Yugito. You're just jealous because I'm getting some, and you're not." Upon saying those words, Yugito's face turned bright red, and her arms twitched uncomfortably. I smirked at the blonde's reaction. She was so easy to piss off.

When the week finally did end, I left for the airport first thing in the morning of break, dragging all sorts of crap with me. Security took almost an hour, and I swear that this perverted cop was feeling me up when I was chosen for a so-called "random" body test. What a fucking bastard. Regardless, I left the security area quickly after that and soon boarded the plane for Tokyo, Japan. Those first four hours, like I said, had been pure hell. Soon enough though, my body crashed due to the week's activities, and I slept like a drooling moron for the rest of the flight, missing two meal services.

Actually, now that I think about it, maybe that was a good thing. Airplane food fucking sucks.

When the plane finally landed at Narita Airport, I left the plane as quickly as I could (stupid people with their mountains of stupid, slow carry-ons...) and made my way to the customs area. I showed the man behind the counter my filled-out forms, and he stamped my passport. I then practically ran to the baggage claim area, and by the time I got there, the bags from my flight had already begun circling the carrousel. When I went to look for my bags, I felt a tap on my shoulder. Thinking it was another pervert (Airports, I swear, are breeding grounds for them.), I turned and went to curse the guy off, but I suddenly lost the words.

"I missed you a lot, Ta-chan."

"Dad..."

And then...I don't know why I did it, but I suddenly broke down into hysterical sobs. I fell against my father and clung to his striped, button-up shirt and cried. I'm not exactly sure what I was crying about. Sure, I had missed Dad a little bit, but, for the most part, he wasn't the one I had been looking forwards to seeing the most. Regardless, I kept on crying into his shirt, totally forgetting that we were in a public airport. The old me would have just stood there and probably cursed him off, but I couldn't bring myself to do that. I couldn't say nasty things to Dad anymore. It was so weird.

Dad put his pale hand atop my head and rubbed my scalp through my black hat. His other arm wrapped around my waist and held me close. "I'm so happy to see you, Ta-chan," he whispered. "You have no idea how much I missed you..."

I looked up at him with tears still flowing from my eyes. "Is that just because you didn't have your little maid around to cook for you and clean the house?" I asked, trying to sound aggressive and angry.

Dad just laughed. "No, Ta-chan," he insisted, "I missed you for real."

I leaned against Dad's chest and tried to calm myself. Eventually, I stopped the tears, and Dad set me standing up straight. I rubbed my eyes and hiccuped a few times. Dad just laughed again and pulled my labeled bag from the carrousel behind me. Without saying a word, I picked my second one up, which had been right behind the first one. Dad nodded, satisfied, and led me out of the airport towards the parking lot. He unlocked his car and put my bags into the trunk while I set myself in the passenger seat up front.

We were headed back home in no time. The trip was short and sweet without much talking. I was jet lagged like fucking hell, yes, but I think that Dad didn't want to bombard me with too many questions right away. I could sort of tell that he wanted to ask me a million things though. How had I enjoyed Paris? Did I meet any new friends? Were my studies okay? Had I traveled anywhere of major importance?

That last question in my head stuck with me. "Back in October," I began, quite randomly, "Yugito and I went to Disneyland Paris for Halloween."

Dad perked up. "Oh?" he asked back. "Did you have a good time?"

I nodded. "A lot of characters were out. All the villains came out for a special performance."

"Did you meet any of them?"

"Yeah...I got all their autographs in this lame book the park people gave me when I entered." I held my breath for a second a let it out in a long huff. "I had fun."

"Good."

The rest of the trip was nothing but an awkward silence, but it didn't last too long. Dad pulled into our driveway mere minutes after I finished talking.

There was something odd about seeing my old house. It hadn't changed at all during the time I had been gone, and I assumed that was because Dad was too lazy to remodel anything. When I stepped out of the car, I noticed that the lights inside the house were on. "Hey, Dad, who else is here?" I asked as my father pulled my bags from the trunk. "I thought you told me in a letter that all my brothers had moved out."

Dad gave me one of those "You can't figure it out for yourself, stupid?" looks. "Christmas is the day after tomorrow, Ta-chan," he sighed, closing the trunk. "Your brothers came back here for the celebration. When I found out that you wanted to come home for the break, I asked everyone to come home as well. I figured that we could sit down and have a real Christmas party like a real family. I invited Hidan, too. You could see if he wants to invite his old friends from Akatsuki as well."

I looked down at the driveway as Dad and I made our way up to the front door. The Sound household had not had a real Christmas party in years. The last one we had had together as a family was the last Christmas before...before Kimimaro died. After his death, we stopped celebrating major holidays together. Kabuto moved out shortly afterwards, and he had decided to live in a different part of the city. Sakon and Ukon were close behind him, deciding to room together in a small apartment in Tokyo's Ueno district. Kiddoumaru began graduate school a year after that, and the school he had decided to attend was in Osaka, so he started living there all year round. Jiroubo was busy with scheduled matches and tournaments, so all the boys moved out. Then I went to Paris for college.

The gears in my head started working overtime. Dad had relied on me a lot while I was away. He tried sending me postcards, e-mails, and care packages as much as possible. He called me when he knew I didn't have class and when the time changed worked for both of us. Suddenly, it all made sense. I felt like shit, like some uncaring bitch who had totally blown off something so simple. It all made so much sense, and I was mentally giving my life a good fuck when I realized it.

Dad was lonely.

"Hey, guys, Tayuya's back!"

I looked up. One by one, my idiot brothers burst from the front door of our house and gathered around me, chattering like crazy. I could barely see their faces in the darkness of the nighttime, but I could tell who was where. Right in front of me was Kabuto, trying to initiate some crowd control. God, he looked so stupid trying to calm those morons down. What I didn't see was Jiroubo behind me, and before I knew it, I was lifted into the air and brought into his tight embrace. I gasped for air as he crushed me towards his large body.

"Hey, little sister!" he laughed, tightening his muscular arms around me. "You got smaller!"

"No, you're just freakishly tall, Jiroubo," Kabuto scolded, smacking his little brother's arms. "Put her down! She's going to pass out!"

Jiroubo did as he was told. He let go of me, and I almost went crashing to the ground. Luckily, Sakon and Ukon were on opposite sides and lifted me up at the same time. I breathed heavily. I never knew that Jiroubo was THAT fucking strong!

"You okay, Imouto?" the twins asked together as I regained my composure.

I nodded. "Let me the hell go." I snatched my arms away from them and grabbed one of my bags. "Dad, let's get the hell inside. It's dark and I'm damn tired." I pushed my way through the crowd of idiots, not wanting to believe that they had actually missed me and were maybe excited to see me. No, they were only being nice to me because Kimimaro had died, those bastards. I totally knew it. If my brother had still been alive, the Sound household would NOT have been that...normal.

When everyone made it inside, I practically collapsed at the dinner table, not caring about the world around me. I didn't want to see my family; I wanted to see Hidan. Dad had to remind me to take my shoes off. Oh yeah. I wasn't in France anymore. We take off our shoes when we enter a house in Japan.

"Hungry, Imouto-chan?"

I looked up at Kiddoumaru, who had his cell phone in his hand. "I'll order you some ramen. There's a new take-out place that just opened nearby, and they're open until midnight." He looked at the kitchen clock, which read 10:30. "Anybody else want ramen?"

"Kiddoumaru, it's too late at night for that," Dad insisted, dragging the last of my luggage into the house. "Ta-chan can have something out of the fridge if she's hungry." He looked at me. "Besides, you're probably really tired, right, Ta-chan?"

"I want an extra large bowl with extra pork!" Jiroubo shouted, pumping a fist into the air.

"Give me a miso," Kabuto replied as he sat down across from me. "Extra green onions."

"Seafood for us," the twins said together.

"A vegetarian for me," Kiddoumaru murmured as he wrote down all the orders. "Imouto-chan?"

I just stared at my brother for a moment. Was he serious? He was ordering ramen for me? "Um," I began, looking off to the side to avoid his eyes, "I'll just take a plain one. I don't want anything too heavy."

My brother nodded. "Dad?"

Dad was too fucking funny. He tapped his foot against the cold tile of the kitchen floor, a pissed expression on his face. Kiddoumaru just grinned happily, showing off his teeth. I snickered as I saw Dad give an exasperated sigh. He had lost. "Just an order of edamame," he gave in. "Ugh, I'm getting too old to deal with all of you. It's a good thing I've retired." He shook his head and sat down on the nearby living room couch. I smiled. I had forgotten how funny Dad was when my brothers manipulated him into getting what they wanted.

When the ramen came, we ate very informally. I was starving actually, so I shoved the hot noodles down my throat. Holy shit, it was RAMEN. I hadn't had it in such a long time. I had lived for two years without it! How in the FUCKING HELL had I done it?! It was a mystery even to me. Ramen tasted so good, but, obviously, France didn't have that many stands selling the noodles. Any place that sold anything like it was cheap and crappy, selling the soup to French tastes. God only knows what the hell they threw in there.

After we all finished, we said our goodnights and left for our rooms. I was surprised my brothers complied with Dad's wishes to go to sleep. I guess he wanted me to be rested, but I didn't think about it too much. I walked into my room and first noticed that it was very clean. I wasn't a particularly messy person by nature, but my space just seemed to be still and peaceful. I knew that no one had occupied the room in two years (unless Dad was hiding something from me), but it was still strange to find it so neat. Maybe Dad had been so lonely that he had nothing better to do than clean...

Of course, I was exhausted like fucking hell, but I couldn't fall asleep. I was in my bed for about an hour, trying desperately to rest myself, but my mind was too busy. Soon it would be Christmas. Soon...I'd be able to see Hidan again. Good God, I missed him. I missed his pale skin and silver hair, his pink eyes and his black leather jacket, his toned chest and his warm arms...I missed being in his embrace. Duh, I'm no romantic...and I'm not the cuddling type, really! Damn it, I mean it! But there was something so special about being with him when it was just the two of us. Sure, the sex was fucking awesome, but that was hardly the point. I just liked being near him.

Around midnight, I got out of bed. I knew what I needed to do to sleep. It was down the hall.

Slowly, I tiptoed out of my room and walked past my brothers' rooms, careful not to wake them (The last thing I needed were a bunch of cranky idiots rampaging through the house.). I made my way around the corner until I came upon Dad's room. The light was shining underneath the door, so he was still awake. I wasn't so sure why I had decided to do this. It was just...something.

I knocked on the door. "Come in," came Dad's voice inside. I twisted the knob and opened the door, revealing myself in my nightshirt. Dad looked surprised. "Ta-chan! I had no idea you were still up!" He straightened up in bed, a look of concern on his face. I stole a quick glance at the surroundings. A single light on the nightstand next to him shone along with the light from the television, which was showing a late-night murder mystery movie. Dad was tucked under the covers of his large bed, and he was wearing a purple t-shirt with gray sweatpants. Throughout my life, I had very rarely seen my father so casual.

"I just can't sleep," I finally replied, walking over to my father's bed. "My body and mind won't let me relax. I was wondering if you knew what I could do."

Dad looked at me thoughtfully. "I think there's a fresh carton of milk downstairs if you want to heat a glass up." He suddenly smiled. "Or you could tell me what's on your mind."

Damn. If Dad knew anything, he knew how to read people like books.

I climbed on top of the bed but didn't get under the covers with my father. I just sort of sat there on the empty side, not really looking at anything. "I want to see Hidan," I finally admitted.

Dad nodded. "I know you do. You'll see him tomorrow. I invited him over for Christmas Eve dinner, and I said he could spend the night with us if he wanted to."

I looked at Dad and grinned. He had so planned that, that bastard. I smirked at him and then looked back down at his bed. "You've been really lonely here, haven't you?" I asked.

Dad suddenly grew sad. "Yes, I have," he admitted. "It's been tough not having any kids at home."

I nodded. "You practically raised seven kids by yourself, the oldest and youngest being eleven years apart. I can't imagine how quiet the house must have become when I left." Suddenly, I found myself leaning closer to my dad. I'm not really sure why exactly, but I think some of the loneliness I was feeling was connecting with the loneliness inside Dad, if that makes any damn sense at all. I was eventually lying against the backboard of the bed with my head resting against my father's shoulder. He grinned and turned his attention back to the television.

"It's the guy in the green shirt," he told me, pointing to a character onscreen. "He killed the first two victims, but chances are really good that he didn't kill the third one. I'm putting my bets on the girl in the orange tank for that one." He grinned wildly. Dad had always had a thing for murder mysteries. He liked to make predictions about who did what, and the scary part was that he was almost always right.

"If you say so," I sighed, closing my eyes lightly. "Guess what? I'm tired now."

Dad laughed. "Murder's not so exciting to you, Ta-chan?"

I snorted. "Hey, I'm dating Hidan. Don't tell me that carnage can't be cool."

Dad laughed again as I picked myself up and made my way off the bed. "Hey, Dad, could I ask you one more question?" I waited for Dad to nod before saying anything else. When he did, I let him have it. "Why did you never get remarried?"

Dad let out a long sigh. "Ta-chan," he began, "I could have gotten remarried. I really could have, but I didn't want to. No woman in the would could ever replace your mother. I feel bad about it now, because I know you really could have used a motherly figure in your life, but I couldn't find it in myself to marry another woman. Your mother was the only woman I ever truly loved, and she always will be."

I slept well that night. For once, I knew that my father's love for someone truly was pure from beginning to end.

Now let's fuck that corniness. I don't do sentimental too well, ne?

When I woke up the next morning, my clock read 11:00 A.M. "Not bad for the time change," I muttered to myself as I got out of bed. "Fell asleep around midnight...Yeah, I'll be okay in another night." I cleaned myself up first, attempting to look half-way decent. When I was clothed, I walked out of my room and headed down the stairs to find a note waiting for me on the table. It read, "Ta-chan: Your brothers and I went out to gather some last-minute things for tonight and tomorrow. Kabuto made you an omelet for you to heat up. It's in the fridge. Please call me if you leave the house. Love, Dad." I rolled my eyes. How sickeningly sweet...

Regardless, I heated the omelet and ate it, deciding to keep myself busy until my family returned. For the most part, I cleaned. Good God, it was as if I was living the first eighteen years of my life all over again. Those were some fucking bad times, really. However, this cleaning wasn't so bad. I felt useful for once, not just like some air-headed maid who had no choice in the matter.

Dad and my brothers came back around three that afternoon, and I sent to work cooking the Christmas meal. It wasn't anything particularly special. Technically, we Japanese don't celebrate Christmas the way Westerners do. I was used to going all-out for the holiday because of France's general religious reasons, so I guess I was unimpressed by the fact that my family hadn't put so much thought into the meal. Fuck my expectations. At least it wasn't like they had gotten a bunch of instant noodle bowls. No, at least they had gotten the good soba that actually required some time to make.

I knew I was in the right house at least. God, my family was so fucking weird.

About three hours later, when everything was just about complete, I heard a knock on the door. "I'll get it," I announced.

When I opened the door, I found myself face-to-face with two huge bouquets of flowers. I was fucking confused as hell. What the...?

But when I looked up, I understood.

"Merry Christmas, bitch," Hidan greeted. "Let me the fuck in. It's cold out here."

"You stupid motherfucking asshole..." I muttered. I let him inside. I didn't even let him take his shoes off. I tackled him right there in the middle of the room for all my family to see, not really caring about the moronic remarks my brothers were making. I made out with my boyfriend right there on the floor, smothering him with everything I had. What a dick he had been for leaving me that day in Paris...I needed to make up for lost time.

"Hey, Ta-chan," I heard from behind me, "could you save that for when the two of you are alone?" I stopped momentarily to look up at my father, who had a slightly less-than-amused look on his pale face. I guess seeing his only daughter make out with her long-time boyfriend on the floor in the middle of his house wasn't high on the list of things he wanted to see. Too fucking bad.

"Dad!" I suddenly heard Sakon and Ukon whine together. "Why did you stop them?!"

I looked up. They both had their phones out, and I saw their outer lights flashing. They had been recording us.

"YOU BASTARDS!!" I shouted, jumping up and chasing them around the house. They quickly split up though, so I could only follow one at a time. I chose to go with Sakon first, but before I knew it, Jiroubo, Kiddoumaru, and Kabuto were chasing them around as well. I'm still not sure if they were doing so to help me or if they just wanted to see the action again.

When I finally caught Sakon, I grabbed the phone from him and deleted the video. I heard Ukon curse loudly in the next room over, so I assumed one of my brothers had gotten to him. When I made it back into the living room, my hair was an ungodly mess, and my cheeks were pink from my heavy panting. Dad's eyes were wide with pure confusion, and Hidan was still on the floor.

The Jashinist looked up at my father. "Merry Christmas, Sound-san!" he greeted. "How are you?"

Our soba dinner that night came and went without anything too interesting. I sat next to Hidan, and it took all I had to keep my hands off him. As I had done during my last week in Paris, I finished my meal as fast as possible and prayed that everyone else would, too. While the family did eat relatively quickly, Jiroubo kept asking for more servings, that dumb fatass.

After dinner, Hidan took me out on his motorcycle for a ride. You know, for old time's sake. I slipped my helmet on and took my spot on the back seat. It was cold as hell outside, so the two of us snuggled up as much as we could through our coats. I was just so happy to be near him again. It didn't really matter how we were or what we did. As long as I was close to him, I didn't care.

Both of us knew where we were going on this little trip. Hidan had brought two bouquets for a reason.

"Merry Christmas, Kimimaro," I murmured as I lowered the flowers to my brother's grave. "You didn't miss anything at the Christmas party this year. Dad and the others bought soba of all things, dammit. That doesn't exactly scream, 'Christmas dinner'!" I paused and leaned up against Hidan. "I wish you were here anyway though."

Hidan smiled at me. "He's here," he told me. "We just can't see him."

I looked up at my boyfriend and managed a tiny grin. Hidan, when he wanted to, could say some pretty cool things. God dammit, I was so lucky to have all the people around me. I had never realized how blessed I had been to have this family, especially when people I knew didn't. It must have been tough on Dad to raise seven kids all by himself while still working for the yakuza. Was having a family like that even legal in the yakuza? Whatever. I still don't know. I just know for a fact that Dad had one hell of a time putting up with all of us. I was never really that grateful though, mostly because those idiots I call my brothers drove me batshit insane. And yet, there was something about them even then when they were terrible to me. They gave me attention at the very least, so they must have had some feelings for me. Kimimaro was the best out of all of them, but I never even showed him any signs of thanks. I always assumed he would be right there saving my ass over and over again. I never even got to thank him for finding me at the bar that one night...

"Are you okay?"

I didn't realize that I had been crying. "I'm fine," I whispered. "Let's go." I bent down and kissed the grave. "Thank you for everything, Kimi-nii-san. May you rest in peace for eternity."

When Hidan and I got back to the house, we went up to my room immediately. Neither of us had to say anything in order to get the message.

"God, I missed you so much," I whispered against my boyfriend's bare chest. "I missed your smell, your touches...the way you feel against me...I missed you like fucking hell, even if you are an idiot religious extremist."

Hidan snorted. "I missed you, too." He flung me onto my bed and kissed my neck. "You've got such soft skin and such a pretty face. I missed all of you, even if you are a loudmouthed bitch."

I smirked. "Yeah? Prove it to me, ass."

He did. Oh, HELL YES, he did.

I was the luckiest girl in the world to have Hidan. Sex with him was incredible, and the afterglow was even better.

"I got you a present," I whispered to him as his eyes started to close. I leaned up against him in bed and handed him a wrapped gift. "Merry Christmas. You'll get the Disney DVD tomorrow."

Hidan kissed me and opened the present. "A CD?" he asked. "Cool, thanks." He kissed me again. "What's on it? Good band?"

I shook my head. "I recorded myself playing the flute. Now you can hear it without me having to be there." I stretched myself out on his lap and looked up at him. "You're still the only person I've ever played for real for."

Needless to say, I got Round 2. Hell yes.

The next day was awesome. On Christmas morning, a bunch of Hidan's friends came over, and we all celebrated together. Deidara and Sasori were the first to arrive, the two of them as artsy and gay (well, at least Deidara) as ever. Pein and Konan came together, newly married. When Kisame came, he brought quite the surprise with him. Zetsu was there. Hidan later told me it was a big deal because he hadn't seen his friend outside the mental institute in a long, long time. I was happy for him. Kakuzu even came by, this time not complaining about the price to take the train from his college town to Tokyo. He brought booze, too, so he's pretty damn awesome in my book. Sasuke and Itachi came later that afternoon, claiming they had spent the morning with their uncle Madara. Yeah, right. We ALL knew what they were REALLY doing, but I decided to keep my mouth shut. Of course, I had to pry Dad off the two of them. He had been good friends with the Uchiha brothers' parents, so he was obsessed with the two boys. Still kind of is. It's a bit scary. No sign of Tobi. No one's heard from him since he left for America.

Everyone was having a great time until Hidan left the party to use the bathroom. I don't even need to explain what happened, do I?

"GET THE FUCK OUT OF HERE, YOU SEX FIENDS!!" my boyfriend screamed at the art brothers. "THIS IS WORSE THAN THE AIRPORT INCIDENT!!"

Oh, God, NO. Deidara and Sasori were NOT having sex in my bathroom.

I went to look in on the scene, and my jaw hit the floor. Yes. Yes, they were doing it in my bathroom. What could be worse than that?

I stared. "Is that my...shampoo bottle?"

Despite that one little incident, the party turned out to be one of the best days of my life.

Today is better though.

"Dad," I whisper as I hang onto my father's arm. "Let's go already. The music is playing." I look ahead and smile.

Hidan looks fucking awesome in a tux.

THE END

Author's Note: Long side story is LOOOOOOOOOONG. XD But I got this idea and just HAD to write it!! I hope you enjoyed this side story in the _Religion and Music_ universe!

~Gothic Dancer


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